CT restores Saturday bus runs

By WARREN CORNWALL

Herald Writer

Starting in mid-September, LuRee Sperry will once again be able to attend Saturday meetings of a group for people with hearing problems, courtesy of Community Transit.

Laura Jensen is not so fortunate.

Both are confined to wheelchairs, live on the outskirts of Everett, and have relied on the bus agency’s door-to-door service for the disabled.

But geography and a decision by CT’s board on Thursday meant Sperry regained previously canceled Saturday bus rides, while Jensen remains without the service she lost in February.

"I like it very much," Sperry, 84, said of the resumption of most Saturday bus service starting Sept. 18.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

"I don’t have a social life anymore," lamented Jensen, 38, whose electric wheelchair is so unwieldy that without the special vans she has had to quit a computer class, support group and volunteer job.

Despite pleadings from an activist for the disabled, the CT board unanimously approved plans restoring 86 percent of Saturday service, and commuter runs for south and north Snohomish County, but not returning special Dial-a-Ride, or DART, service to Jensen and 115 others.

The bus service to be returned Sept. 18 was part of cuts made earlier in reaction to the 1999 passage of Initiative 695. The initiative canceled the car tax, a source of roughly a third of CT’s operating budget.

Board member Dave Earling welcomed the service revival as a victory achieved with extensive input from unions, workers and citizens, and a one-year financial aid package from the state.

With limited funding, he said, they could do little more.

"We understand and are sensitive to the fact that we didn’t restore all the service. But we’re going to need more money to do that," Earling said.

But Sarajane Siegfriedt, director of the Disability Resource Center in Everett, said she was disappointed CT’s staff hadn’t briefed board members, or earlier committees, about a plan to help more disabled people for a fraction of the $3 million package approved Thursday.

Siegfriedt lobbied the board to resume DART trips for people who live near bus routes wiped out in the early round of service cuts. Now, CT only offers the special service to people living within three-fourths of a mile of a regular bus route – as required by federal law.

For an additional $58,000 a year, the bus agency could have gone above the legal requirements and helped an estimated 116 former DART riders such as Jensen who are now completely without service, she said.

But Earling said that would require a change in the agency’s long-standing policy tying DART service to regular bus routes. A memo from agency staffers on Thursday warned board members that change could later force them to maintain other costly service for the disabled.

A policy shift like that was beyond the scope of the board’s considerations Thursday, Earling said.

"I’m not averse to doing it," he said. "But I hadn’t even thought about it."

Teresa "Flying Eagle" Baird, a long-time activist for transit for the disabled, backed the board’s decision, saying the pain of cuts needed to be spread equally among riders.

But the loss of a bus could be more devastating for someone in an wheelchair, said Siegfriedt.

"Some people need a little extra help at the outset," she said.

Earling cautioned all of the restored service could be lost within a year if CT doesn’t find another source of money. The $3 million comes from a one-time package approved by state lawmakers.

Transit officials are considering asking county voters to approve a three-tenths of a penny sales tax increase to replace money lost to I-695.

You can call Herald Writer Warren Cornwall at 425-339-3463 or send e-mail to

cornwall@heraldnet.com.

Coming back

Community Transit Bus service returning Sept. 18:

Most Saturday service – 86 percent. All weekend service was canceled in February.

A commuter route from Stanwood to Seattle gets three round-trips a day, after being cut to two.

Two commuter bus routes from south Snohomish County to Boeing’s Everett plant.

For more information, call Community Transit at 800-562-1375.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Cars drive along Cathcart Way next to the site of the proposed Eastview Village development that borders Little Cedars Elementary on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 in unincorporated Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Former engineer: Snohomish County rushed plans for Eastview development

David Irwin cited red flags from the developers. After he resigned, the county approved the development that’s now stalled with an appeal

Outside of the Madrona School on Monday, Aug. 26, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Sewer district notifies Edmonds schools of intent to sue

The letter of intent alleges the school district has failed to address long-standing “water pollution issues” at Madrona K-8 School.

Everett
Man stabbed in face outside Everett IHOP, may lose eye

Police say the suspect fled in the victim’s car, leading officers on a 6-mile chase before his arrest.

A person walks up 20th Street Southeast to look at the damage that closed the road on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
WA delegation urges Trump to reconsider request for bomb cyclone aid

The Washington state congressional delegation urged President Donald Trump on… Continue reading

Aaron Weinstock uses an x-ray machine toy inside the Imagine Children Museum on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Imagine Children’s Museum $250k grant reinstated following federal court order

The federal grant supports a program that brings free science lessons to children throughout rural Snohomish County.

Snohomish County 911 Executive Director Kurt Mills talks about the improvements made in the new call center space during a tour of the building on Tuesday, May 20, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New 911 center in Everett built to survive disaster

The $67.5 million facility brings all emergency staff under one roof with seismic upgrades, wellness features and space to expand.

Everett
Five arrested in connection with Everett toddler’s 2024 overdose death

More than a year after 13-month-old died, Everett police make arrests in overdose case.

Madison Family Shelter Family Support Specialist Dan Blizard talks about one of the pallet homes on Monday, May 19, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Madison Family Shelter reopens after hiatus

The Pallet shelter village, formerly Faith Family Village, provides housing for up to eight families for 90 days.

Brian Murril, who started at Liberty Elementary as a kindergartner in 1963, looks for his yearbook photograph during an open house for the public to walk through the school before its closing on Thursday, May 29, 2025 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Locals say goodbye to Marysville school after 74 years

Liberty Elementary is one of two schools the Marysville School District is closing later this year to save costs.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray speaks at a round table discussion with multiple Snohomish County agencies about the Trump administrator restricting homelessness assistance funding on Thursday, May 29, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Sen. Murray hears from county homelessness assistance providers

In early May, Snohomish County sued the Trump administration for putting unlawful conditions on $16.7M in grant funding.

Gov. Bob Ferguson, at podium, goes to shake hands with state Sen. Noel Frame, D-Seattle, at the signing of a bill to make clergy mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect, on May 2, 2025 in Olympia. At center is Mary Dispenza, a founding member of the Catholic Accountability Project. (Photo by Jerry Cornfield/Washington State Standard)
Bishops sue to overturn new WA law requiring clergy to report child abuse

They argue it is unconstitutional to force Catholic priests to divulge information learned in confession.

DNR removes derelict barge from Spencer Island

The removal was done in partnership with state Fish and Wildlife within a broader habitat restoration project.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.